With Nolan Carroll's blessing, Sal Alosi moves on

Dolphins cornerback, ex-Jets assistant will be forever linked by 'Tripgate'

(Nolan Carroll is kneed by…)

October 14, 2011|Mike Berardino, Sun Sentinel Columnist

DAVIE -- Nolan Carroll had no idea Sal Alosi was back in the game.

Not in the NFL, mind you, where Alosi earned his dismissal from the Jets staff after a sideline tripping incident against Carroll that still defies explanation 10 months later.

Rather at Bryant University, a small private school outside Providence, where Alosi is trying to rebuild his career as a strength and conditioning coach for the entire athletic program.

Saturday afternoon, while the Dolphins' second-year cornerback prepares for Monday night's return to MetLife Stadium, Alosi will be on the football sidelines for the Bryant Bulldogs as they play Monmouth.

"I'm happy for him," Carroll says. "He got another shot at it, which is good. You start at the bottom and work your way back up. That's what he's doing."

Carroll's lack of malice toward his unlikely foil is consistent with his laid-back personality and the way he responded in the immediate aftermath of the Dec. 12 incident.

A shaken, apologetic Alosi called Carroll as the Dolphins prepared to fly back home from that strange experience, one that completely overshadowed a 10-6 victory that remains their most recent in the regular season.

"He's humble," Carroll says. "He sounded humble when he was on the phone. He called me and apologized. He sounded sincere."

And then Carroll, who plays a remarkably vicious game for a living, did the most amazing thing.

Carroll was just relieved he wasn't seriously injured. He went flying after Alosi stuck out his knee as Carroll ran past on punt coverage, but after staying down a few moments, Carroll was able to return.

Alosi, however, was done.

The Jets quickly suspended him, and he missed the final six games of their playoff run. Soon after, Alosi was dismissed despite eight years with the franchise, the Jets portraying him as a rogue sideline presence.

Those who had worked with Alosi were worried about him. He and his wife had a newborn at home, and this was no time to be unemployed.

Dolphins linebacker Jason Trusnik, then a free agent who spent parts of three seasons with the Jets, called Alosi just to check up on him.

"I felt bad for his family," Trusnik says. "I thought he was a great strength coach and a good friend. For something to happen like that – wrong time, wrong place, and for a split second you think the wrong way – I just felt for him."

Finally, in late July, the opportunity at Bryant came along.

Even with the Bulldogs off to a 4-2 start, school officials have denied all interview requests for Alosi.

In a statement, Alosi says he is "grateful for the opportunity" he has been given.

"I have moved on from what occurred in the past," Alosi says.

So has the player whose name will forever be linked with his.

"To tell you the truth, it hasn't even crossed my mind since the incident happened," Carroll says. "I put it in the back of my head after the week that it happened. Obviously, there were some bad intentions, but I forgive him at the end of the day, regardless of the situation."

And yet, there is also this odd nugget: Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley is a former three-term U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. He served as a Republican, just as Carroll's mother, Jennifer, does now as Florida's lieutenant governor.

So the man who is helping Alosi reclaim his career probably has at least a passing political acquaintance with the mother of the player whose career Alosi could have ended.